29 July 2023 , 17:55
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Jeremy Vine is backing victims of the web stalker he calls the “Jimmy Savile of trolling”. The Radio 2 host, 58, was a target of a deluge of vile social media posts and emails from deranged DJ Alex Belfield. Another victim was theatre blogger Phil Dehany, 41, who was driven to the brink of suicide by Belfield’s torment. In September, Belfield was jailed for five-and-a-half years for stalking Vine, Dehany and two other men with links to the BBC, from 2012 to 2021.
Vine launched a civil case against the stalker and won an apology and substantial damages for the abuse, lies and harassment he faced. Dehany is doing the same and has started crowdfunding to help pay his legal costs. He said: “Jeremy has been brilliant. We’ve got a WhatsApp group and he reaches out to make sure everybody’s OK. He even took us out for dinner. ”
Ex-BBC presenter Alex Belfield has been jailed (PA)
Theatre blogger and stalker victim Phil DehanyVine tweeted that Dehany needs help to get his case heard. Speaking publicly for the first time, Dehany said he was forced to reveal his HIV+ status after Belfield hinted at his “lifelong condition” in a YouTube video uploaded just before he was sent to prison.
He said: “Belfield was a complete stranger yet made my and my family’s life hell. He has never shown remorse. I’m suing him for harassment and I want a public apology.” Belfield, 43, waged a nine-year stalking campaign against the four men when his BBC contract was not renewed in 2011.
He posted YouTube videos describing Dehany as “morally corrupt” and a “low life scumbag mincing on the airwaves”. Belfield, a shock jock, bragged in one clip: “I made him suicidal and he blubs like a big girl’s blouse.” The abuse continued in lockdown, when Dehany returned to his parents’ home in Middleton, Cumbria. He said: “He spent 25 minutes lying about me. We recorded his vicious accusations that I was mentally unstable – I’m not – and gay which my parents knew about.
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“I was livid he brought his venom to my family home. My parents couldn’t grasp what online stalking was. Belfield’s behaviour caused a rift between us. We had words about him and I moved back to London. That was such a low point. I wanted to end my life.” In the Nottingham crown court trial, Channel 5 presenter Vine broke down in tears as he faced his stalker – calling him the “Jimmy Savile of trolling”. Dehany said: “I am sure jail will not change him. Once free, he will start up again. Social media needs to be made as accountable as mainstream media over what can be published. I’ll never recover from this.”
To help Phil’s crowdfunding effort to cover costs, visit crowdjustice.com/case/help-stop-ex-bbc-presenter-alex-belfield
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